Thursday, August 09, 2012

Hawaii Civil Unions NOT Marriage, Fed. Judge Rules

U.S. District Court Judge Alan C. Kay ruled that Hawaii's one-man-one-woman marriage law does not violate the U.S. Constitution; the case involved two women demanding marriage rather than binding their lesbian relationship by Hawaii's civil unions law.

“If the traditional institution of marriage is to be restructured, as sought by plaintiffs, it should be done by a democratically-elected legislature or the people through a constitutional amendment, not through judicial legislation that would inappropriately preempt democratic deliberation regarding whether or not to authorize same-sex marriage.”-- Judge Alan C. Kay

The lawsuit by Natasha Jackson and Janin Kleid argues they need to be married in order to get certain federal benefits. Co-plaintiff Gary Bradley wants to marry his foreign national partner to help him change his immigration status. Their attorney, John D'Amato, said they will appeal.

The case put Gov. Neil Abercrombie in the unusual position of both being a defendant in the lawsuit while supporting the plaintiffs' claims, saying a same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.

Wednesday's ruling also denied Hawaii Family Forum's motion to dismiss Abercrombie as defendant. The group argued Abercrombie has no place on either side of the lawsuit, partly because he is not the state official in charge of issuing marriage licenses. Abercrombie signed Hawaii's civil union legislation into law last year, allowing same-sex and opposite-sex couples to enter into a civil union with the same state rights and responsibilities as traditional marriage.

A senior district court judge has upheld the constitutionality of a Hawaiian law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

“It is not beyond rational speculation to conclude that fundamentally altering the definition of marriage to include same-sex unions might result in undermining the societal understanding of the link between marriage, procreation, and family structure,” Judge Alan Cooke Kay, a Reagan appointee, wrote. “Because Hawaii’s marriage laws are rationally related to legitimate government interests they do not violate the federal Constitution.”